SHANGHAI, Jul 18 (SMM) – The SHFE 2208 copper contract lost as much as 6,300 yuan/mt at last Friday’s close when compared with its weekly high. How have copper processing enterprises performed amid the collapse in copper prices?

Copper wire and cable: The orders of major copper wire and cable companies improved last week due to the transfer of orders from SMEs who could not bear the sharp copper price fall and strong demand from the PV and wind power sectors. In addition, driven by the national infrastructure stimulus policies, orders of some enterprises have begun to rebound, especially in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Enamelled wire: The orders of enamelled wire companies did not change much last week as customers were bearish and restocked only as needed amid falling copper prices. The enamelled wire industry is still in the off-season. Orders from traditional industries, such as home appliances and electrical tools, continued to decline. However, the preferential tax policy led to a substantial increase in the production and sales of automobiles in June. As a result, orders for automobile wiring harnesses and micro motors increased significantly.

Copper rod: The average operating rate of major domestic copper cathode rod enterprises was 71.33% last week, down 0.11 percentage point from a week ago. The sharp drop in copper prices triggered downstream wait-and-see sentiment. However, on the whole, due to the recent recovery of downstream cable orders and positive impact of the price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap, copper rod factories reported sufficient orders, allowing their operating rates to stay above 70% for four consecutive weeks.

Copper pipe: The orders for copper pipe used in air conditioners declined due to the off-season and sluggish real estate sector. The copper pipe industry was severely affected by poor end demand this year. Falling copper prices made distributors even more cautious in purchasing. The orders for copper pipe declined over 30% YoY in July.  Air-conditioner sales improved rapidly recently due to high temperature in many parts of the country, bringing some relief to copper pipe industry. But it will take some time before this is transmitted to copper pipe demand.